The Influence of Piezoviscosity on the Minimum Film Thickness in Heavily Loaded Elastohydrodynamic Point Contacts

The lowest film thicknesses in heavily loaded point contacts occur in a band around the rear of the contact. The minimum lies either at the centre of this band or at its ends, near the sides of the conjunction. The clearances in the two regions vary independently with changes in contact geometry and operating conditions, but for relatively narrow contacts and for higher loads the clearance at the contact sides is smaller than on the centre-line. This paper examines how this side clearance alters, under heavily loaded conditions, with changes in piezoviscosity.